DENVER—Colorado Republicans began the 2011 legislative session with an aggressive immigration strategy that included requiring proof of citizenship to vote and copying Arizona’s plan to give law enforcement broad authority to detain illegal immigrants.
More than halfway through the session, most proposals have failed. Reasons cited are the divided Legislature, a focus on the economy, concerns about the expense of enforcing new immigration laws and worries about the national backlash Arizona received.
The last bills remaining include a proposal to allow the Secretary of State’s office to invalidate voters when their citizenship is in doubt—the third attempt this session to target what Republicans say is a voting fraud problem.
Another bill would punish municipalities that refuse to participate in the federal Secure Communities program, which identifies illegal immigrants through fingerprints taken during jail bookings. Under the bill, municipalities that decline the program would stop receiving severance and cigarette taxes from the state.
That bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. David Balmer, said he struggled to get it through the House, where Republicans have a one-vote edge. The bill is now in the Democrat-controlled Senate, where its chances of passage are doubtful.
“I really had to corral all my votes to make sure they stuck with me on that bill,” said Balmer, who represents Arapahoe County. “I thought that was a pretty universal Republican position, but apparently it’s not.”
The GOP’s toughest proposals died early.
A House bill modeled after Arizona’s immigration law would have allowed police to arrest anyone they suspect is in the country illegally and require people to carry immigration documents. Rep. Randy Baumgardner of Hot Sulphur Springs, the bill’s sponsor, asked a House committee to shelve it, saying he didn’t want to burden taxpayers with possible litigation during hard economic times.
Republican Sen. Kent Lambert of Colorado Springs carried a similar proposal. It died in a Democrat-controlled committee.
The few victories Republicans have scored by moving bills out of the House—including one to restrict bail rights for illegal immigrants and requiring government-issued photo IDs to vote—will ultimately be blocked in the Senate, where Democrats have a 20-15 advantage.
“The focus of the session seems to be jobs and the economy,” said Senate president Brandon Shaffer. “And when you look at the fallout, the economic fallout, of some of the Arizona-style immigration legislation, you see it has a significant impact on the tourism industry. This is just not the right time to go down that road.”
The Senate barrier notwithstanding, there has been little public enthusiasm for Republican immigration proposals. Supporters at hearings have usually been outnumbered by opponents, including immigration advocacy groups and attorneys who question the proposals’ constitutionality.
“I have certainly supported some of the bills and think they make sense. But I also think that you have to pick your battles, and some of these bills weren’t going to make it,” said Lu Busse, chairwoman of the conservative 9.12 Project Colorado Coalition. She said she hoped Republicans will do more about making sure people who cast ballots are actually eligible to vote.
A telephone poll of early and absentee Colorado voters, conducted for The Associated Press and television networks last election, suggested about seven in 10 chose the economy as the most important issue facing the nation, over health care, the war in Afghanistan and illegal immigration. The poll said roughly six in 10 voters thought most illegal immigrants working in the U.S. should get a chance to apply for legal status.
The survey of Colorado voters was conducted by Edison Research. Results were subject to a sampling error of plus or minus 3 percentage points.
Balmer insists that many of his constituents want something done about illegal immigration. But his Secure Communities bill faces an uncertain future in the Senate. It’s been assigned to the State, Veterans, and Military Affairs Committee, which is where Democrats assign Republican proposals they don’t like.
“I thought that one of the key issues we would focus on would be cracking down on illegal aliens,” Balmer said. “So I’m disappointed with the progress so far on that issue.”
